Illegal dumping persists across Ho Chi Minh City despite warnings, surveillance

Garbage piled along the roadside, dumped on vacant lots, and clogging canals remains a persistent problem that continues to damage the urban landscape and pollute the environment in many parts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Complaints about the issue have also repeatedly been raised by readers to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper while its reporters haved documented illegal dumping activities across multiple wards and communes in the city.

Piles of trash everywhere

A roadside area near the 1050 apartment complex on Phan Chu Trinh Street in Binh Thanh Ward has become a frequent illegal dumping site.

“There are all kinds of trash brought by people from other places to throw away here, and it smells very bad,” said a frustrated resident.

Over four consecutive days, from May 6 to May 9, the reporters’ cameras recorded 14 separate cases of people illegally dumping trash along the roadside, most of them occurring in the evening or late at night.

Shortly after 7:00 pm on May 6, a young man on a motorbike casually tossed two bags of trash onto the roadside before driving away.

An hour later, a man and woman on another motorbike stopped to leave behind a foam box.

Then, a woman on a bicycle arrived and threw four bags of garbage onto the same spot.

On the afternoon of May 7, one man returned twice to dump trash at the site. 

The first time, he carried three black garbage bags; the second, he transported a large foam container.

That same evening, another young man was seen twice dumping large bags of waste. A woman on a motorbike and another riding a bicycle also arrived after another to leave bags of garbage there.

In addition to household waste, discarded foam boxes and styrofoam continued to accumulate day after day.

At noon on May 9, the reporters also observed a man transporting two large containers filled with liquid and dumping them onto the trash pile before quickly leaving the scene.

Along Road F in Dong Hung Thuan Ward, piles of household garbage, old foam mattresses, styrofoam boxes, plastic bags, and cups emitted foul odors while swarms of flies hovered above.

Warning signs prohibiting dumping in the area appeared ineffective in deterring people from discarding waste there.

Nearby were additional piles containing gypsum boards, construction debris, mattresses, and plastic waste beside the blackened remains of previously burned garbage.

At around 9:00 pm on May 6, a young man wearing a mask, riding an electric bicycle, stopped in a dark, quiet section of Road F near the intersection with Road B1.

He threw a large bundle of sugarcane waste onto the trash pile, followed by another large bag.

Asked why he dumped the trash there, the man said his family sold sugarcane juice.

“Other people dump trash here, so I do the same,” he said before leaving.

At noon on April 14, a motorcyclist carrying a large sack rode along Road F before suddenly turning onto a dirt path beside a canal, dumping the sack onto the roadside and setting it on fire.

This black smoke rose into the midday sky.

Another dumping hotspot that has recently emerged is near the Xuyen Tam Canal, alongside Nguyen Xuan On Street and the inter-ward bridge in Gia Dinh Ward.

Large and small piles of trash have grown several meters high, while garbage also litters the canal and the area beneath the bridge.

Alongside Nguyen Duy Street near Nhi Thien Duong Bridge in Phu Dinh Ward, roadside areas have also turned into illegal dumping grounds for garbage and construction debris.

The area resembles an open-air landfill stretching along the road with scattered waste lying in disarray.

At noon on May 6, a man driving a three-wheeled vehicle loaded with rubble pulled over and unloaded the entire load onto the roadside.

Sanitation workers found dumping trash into canals

On two consecutive evenings, April 20 and 21, two sanitation workers were seen sweeping along Road 26-3 beside Canal 19-5 in Binh Hung Hoa Ward.

While a female worker swept the road ahead, a male colleague pushed a garbage cart bearing the logo of the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Company Limited.

Instead of placing collected waste into the cart, the man was repeatedly seen shoveling leaves, dirt, and trash from the street directly into the canal and onto its banks.

The canal often contains floating garbage, while waste accumulates and emits foul odors near its end.

Large trash bags are frequently seen along the canal banks despite warning signs stating that dumping is prohibited and monitored by surveillance cameras.

Residents said much of the garbage came from people who routinely discarded waste into the canal, including some nearby vendors.

“The canal still smells terrible because of the garbage, even though authorities regularly clean it up," one resident said, calling for stricter penalties against offenders.

“Everyone needs to be more aware. If people keep throwing trash into the canal, no one can clean it up that fast."

Other canals frequently affected by waste pollution include the Hy Vong Canal in Tan Son Ward, the Chien Luoc Canal in Binh Tri Dong Ward, the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, and the Xuyen Tam Canal.

Along sparsely populated roads such as Rach Cau Suoi, Kenh Lien Vung, and Tran Hai Phung in Tan Vinh Loc Commune, the reporters also observed large piles of garbage either smoldering, burned to ashes, or emitting a burnt smell.

At noon on May 5, a man carrying a sack of scrap waste on his motorbike stopped along Kenh Lien Vung Road and casually used styrofoam and dry grass to ignite the sack. Thick black smoke and a strong burning odor quickly spread through the area.

Asked whether he frequently burned trash there or had ever been fined, the man replied nonchalantly, “I’ve burned trash here twice.”

On the afternoon of May 4, a woman on a motorbike brought a bag of garbage to Tran Hai Phung Road in Tan Vinh Loc Commune and used a mini gas torch to set it on fire.

She said the waste included sanitary pads and daily household garbage.

“I only burn trash occasionally. Since I’m here anyway, I just burn it instead of dumping it carelessly,” she added